SBE dues for most members have not changed since 1992. The Society'sBoard, agreeing with a recommendation from the SBE finance and SBEexecutive committees, determined an increase was necessary at this timeto keep the SBE on a firm financial footing. The SBE has operated witha deficit budget in both 2001 and 2002, using cash from reserves tomake up the difference. Expenses have been kept as low as possiblewhile still providing the resources to carryout the programs andservices of the Society.

The dues increase proposal was a part of the 2003 budget approved bythe Board during its meeting October 16 in Phoenix.

The rate for regular, senior and associate members will rise $5 to $60per year. This is the first dues increase for these membershipcategories since April 1992. Dues for Student Members will rise $3 to$18 per year, which will be the first increase for this member categorysince 1996. The new rates will apply to new members that join on orafter January 1, 2003 and for current members who are due to renewApril 1, 2003.

Membership dues for youth members will remain at $10 while dues forsustaining members will stay at $550 per year.

Life membership remains free. There is a one-time $35 application feefor those applying for life membership, which took effect earlier thisyear. Members who are retired and have held membership in the SBE forat least 10 consecutive years at the time of application for lifemembership, can qualify.

Local SBE chapters will also share in the increased revenues from thedues increase. Chapter rebates, which are paid to chapters who meet atleast five times each year, will increase because they are determinedby the amount of dues paid by regular, senior and associate members.The overall increase should be approximately $3,513 beginning with the2003 program year, bringing the total amount in rebates paid toqualifying chapters to more than $36,000 per year.

ITU Recommends DRM for Three-bandUse

Geneva - Oct 23, 2002 � The on-air system company DigitalRadio Mondiale (DRM) has received endorsement by the InternationalTelecommunications Union (ITU) for three broadcasting bands below30MHz: short-wave, medium-wave/AM and long-wave. Administrations of theITU's member countries approved a revised version of RecommendationBS1514, now called Recommendation BS1514-1 (Digital Sound BroadcastingBelow 30MHz). It states that DRM is an ITU-R Recommendation for all thebroadcasting bands spanning 150kHz to 30MHz. No other digital radiosystem has received such broad recommendation by the ITU. The ITU,which has 190 member countries, had approved its originalrecommendation of the DRM system within BS 1514 in April 2001.

This development marks another milestone in DRM's progress towarduniversal standardization. DRM has been endorsed by the InternationalElectrotechnical Committee (IEC), which published its DRM PubliclyAvailable Specification (PAS 62272-1) earlier this year. Additionally,the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) published aTechnical Specification of the DRM system in September 2001. Thedocument is called ETSI TS 101 980 V1.1.1 (2001-09), Digital RadioMondiale (DRM); System Specification. Free downloadable copies areavailable at the ETSI website at www.etsi.org.

DRM is the world's only non-proprietary, digital AM system forshort-wave, medium-wave and long-wave, with the ability to use existingfrequencies and bandwidth across the globe.

Labor Coalition to Review OwnershipStudies by FCC

New York - October 3, 2002 - A group of labor organizationsrepresenting professionals in the broadcast, communications andentertainment industries have retained the services of the Center forEconomic and Policy Research (CEPR) to review the data released invarious ownership studies by the FCC.

The studies were released by the FCC in advance of a rule making,relative to existing rules that limit ownership of broadcast media.Organizations fear that these rules may be eradicated under the currentCommission. The unions also endorsed a recommendation by FCCCommissioner Michael Copps that public hearings on media ownershipshould be held around the country before the Commission makes its finalrecommendations on the rules.

CEPR is representing the American Federation of Television and RadioArtists (AFTRA), The Newspaper Guild-Communications Workers of America(TNG-CWA), the AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees (DPE) andthe Writers Guild of America/East (WGAE).

The Fluke Digital Multimeter isRecalled

Everett, WA - Oct 23, 2002 - In cooperation with the U.S. ConsumerProduct Safety Commission, Fluke is recalling about 40,000 digitalmultimeters, 17,200 of which were sold in the U.S. The recalled unitstake longer than normal to display readings of ac voltages above 500V,sometimes as long as 18 seconds. Users can misinterpret the delayedreading to mean that high voltage is not present. Some meters withmodel numbers 175, 177 and 179 are affected. See the following websitefor specific information: www.fluke.com/rma/170_notice.asp?locale=usen&region=r4

Indianapolis - Oct 7, 2002 - In an effort to assist qualifiedindividuals in obtaining Certification from the Society of BroadcastEngineers, the SBE Certification Committee has applied for and receivedapproval from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recognizing mostof the current levels of SBE Certification as educational opportunitiessuitable for VA financial reimbursement.

"The Certification Committee continues to look for ways of making SBECertification more accessible to the Society's members and thebroadcast industry," said Chriss Scherer, CSRE, chairman of the SBE'sNational Certification Committee. "I encourage any veteran who iseligible to receive the educational benefit to take advantage of it.Linda Baun, SBE certification director, saw the application andapproval process through completion and deserves the credit for makingthis happen."

For tests taken after March 1, 2001, the Department of Veterans Affairsadded a license or certification reimbursement benefit to the G.I.Bill. This benefit is designed to help veterans obtain the necessarycertification to show competency in an area of skill. Many militaryelectronics technicians look at careers in communications andbroadcasting after discharge. This program provides a financial meansfor veterans to obtain the recognition they deserve to secure atechnical career in broadcasting and electronic media.

Only tests specifically approved for the G.I. Bill are eligible for thereimbursement credit. The Society of Broadcast Engineer's CertificationCommittee has received approval on the following Certificationlevels:

Certified Broadcast Technologist - CBT

Certified Broadcast Radio Engineer - CBRE

Certified Broadcast Television Engineer - CBTE

Certified Senior Radio Engineer - CSRE

Certified Senior Television Engineer - CSTE

Certified Professional Broadcast Engineer - CPBE

Certified Broadcast Networking Technologist - CBNT

Certified Television Operator - CTO

"I commend the Certification Committee and especially Linda Baun fortheir efforts. This is great news for broadcast engineers who are alsoveterans," said Troy Pennington, CSRE CBNT, president of the Society ofBroadcast Engineers. "The SBE appreciates the work of our veterans andare pleased that we are able to extend this benefit to those veteransapplying for SBE Certification."

To be eligible for the reimbursement, a veteran must be eligible forthe Montgomery G.I.Bill and active duty (also called the MGIB orChapter 30), VEAP (also called Chapter 32) or Dependents' EducationalAssistance (also called DEA or Chapter 35). Additional details on thereimbursement program are available through the SBE National Office andwill be provided to certification exam applicants on request.

The SBE Certification Program was established to create an industrybenchmark for evaluating a broadcast engineer�s skill andproficiency.

SoundExchange Releases TemporaryRoyalty Payment Plan

Washington - Oct 18, 2002 - H.R.5469, also known as the SmallWebcaster Amendments Act of 2002, was passed by the U.S. House ofRepresentatives on Oct. 7 by a unanimous voice vote. Following thisaction, the bill went to the Senate, where it failed to be reviewed anpassed before Congress adjourned. Because the bill was not passedbefore the webcaster royalty deadline of Oct. 20, 2002, webcasters areexpected to submit payments in accordance with the Librarian ofCongress� ruling.

H.R.5469 was introduced to extend the payment deadline by six months.It was designed to provide relief for small webcasters until a royaltynegotiations between webcasters and record companies were completed.The Senate will review H.R.5469 when it reconvenes in November. It isexpected that the Senate will also pass the bill.

Because of the Senate's failure to pass H.R. 5469 before October 20,SoundExchange announced a temporary payment policy for small webcasterson behalf of its sound recording copyright members. The policystates:

Any webcaster that qualifies as an eligible small webcasterunder H.R. 5469 will not be required to pay on October 20 the perperformance (.0762 cents) royalties otherwise due under the Librarianof Congress' decision of July 8, 2002.

Instead, by October 21, these eligible small webcasters may insteadpay only the $500 annual minimum fee set by the Librarian of Congressfor each year or portion thereof they have been in operation since 1998(a maximum of $2500) until this Congress has had the opportunity to acton the pending legislation.

The full text of H.R. 5469 is available on the Radio magazinewebsite at thislink.

The RIAA has posted a general summary of the bill, which is availableby following this link.

SBE Announces Location for 2003National Meeting

Phoenix - Oct 17, 2002 - During the Society of Broadcat Engineers'meeting of its board of directors, the location for the Society'sannual National Meeting was decided. The 2003 meeting will be held inMadison, WI, during the Broadcasters Clinic 2003, October 14 to16.

The SBE has held its national meeting to coincide with variousconventions of SBE chapters for several years. The 2002 meeting washeld in Phoenix.

Business

TMS AssistsBroadcasters with DCS, Maestro Systems

Olathe, KS - Oct 25, 2002 - Scott Slocum has created an organizationto assist broadcasters who are operating with the DCS and Maestrodigital audio systems. Turnkey Media Systems of Olathe, KS, haspurchased a stockpile of used DCS machines, parts and some new softwaremodules to increase flexibility and functionality to the DOS-based andWindows-based configurations.

In addition, the company will be offering Windows-based traffic andbilling software for radio and television, plus Windows-based musicscheduling software, and paperless studio systems for production andcontest management.

Scott can be reached at his Olathe office at 913-568-2254, or by e-mailat TurnKeyMediaSystems@yahoo.com.

NMP Installs i2i Media System inNew York

Princeton, NJ - Oct 24, 2002 - Nassau Media Partners will installits i2i Media digital visual messaging system at the New York Waterwaywithin the next 30 days. A strategic alliance with Clarity VisualSystems, a provider of digital visual messaging and the technologypartner with NMP on the waterway project, was announced in July2002.

Nassau will broadcast advertising, branded lifestyle content, as wellas news, weather, sports and financial news, seven days a week, to morethan 70,000 daily New York Waterway ferry commuters. The i2i Mediasystem will also display real-time ferry schedules and emergencyinformation in all New York Waterway terminals.

Ibiquity's HD Radio TechnologyLicensed to Delphi

Detroit - Oct 21, 2002 - Delphi, a transportation, mobileelectronics components and systems technology company, has licensedIbiquity's HD Radio technology, allowing the mobile electronicsmanufacturer to integrate the Radio technology into receivers slatedfor availability to automakers in the 2004 calendar year.

People

Gillon Joins Harris FieldSales

Cincinnati - Oct 22, 2002 - Matt Gillon has joined Harris' BroadcastCommunications Division (BCD) as manager of field sales. Gillon will beresponsible for directing all day-to-day sales activities and the salesrepresentatives for Harris Radio field sales in the UnitedStates.

Gillon brings more than 16 years of radio broadcast experience ingeneral and sales management to the Harris organization. Most recently,he was vice president of sales for KCOB-AM/FM/KRTI-FM of Newton, IA,where he was responsible for directing the company's sales marketingteam for radio. Gillon has also served as general manager and directorof sales for Two Rivers Broadcasting, L.P., owners of KBGG-AM, KGGO-FM,KHKI-FM, KJJY-FM and KRKQ-FM, where he managed a 60-person staff.Additionally, Gillon has worked in a number of sales capacities withDes Moines, IA, stations Star 102.5/Lite 104.1, the MeredithPublications Crafts Group, Oskalossa, IA, station WHO-AM, KRMD-FM andKBOE-AM/KOSK-FM, and Otumwa, IA, stations KLEE-AM/FM.

He is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a B.A. degree incommunications studies.

Originally hired as Tascam's division manager in 2001, Mack has beenprimarily responsible for the restructuring of Tascam's worldwideproduct development process. In his expanded role, Mack will alsoassume leadership duties for Tascam's sales, marketing and businessdevelopment efforts.

Prior to joining Tascam, Mack spent seven years at Alesis, ending histenure there as vice-president of sales and marketing. Mack has morethan 25 years of industry experience, including 11 years as anindependent representative for a variety of music and audiomanufacturers, and over a decade in management in the consumer andprofessional audio retail sectors.

The remainder of Soundcraft's domestic territories continue to behandled by their pre-existing rep firms.

Prior Becomes RCS VP/Africa

White Plains, NY - Oct 14, 2002 - Robin Prior has been appointedvice president/Africa for RCS. Prior is a broadcast industry veteran,involved in South Africa radio and TV broadcasting for more than 30years.

Before joining RCS in the USA, Prior ran his own broadcast-relatedcompanies, including a turnkey radio and TV station installation andsystems integration company. He was responsible for installing andcommissioning several TV and radio station complexes throughoutSouthern Africa. Prior's company represented RCS in Africa for 10 yearsbefore he moved to the USA.

During the past six years at the RCS World Headquarters in New York,Robin has been responsible for the Support and Installation Departmentas well as Product Management for RCS Master Control. He was named vicepresident-international in April 2002, where his responsibilitiesincluded all RCS activities outside the Continental USA and SouthAmerica.

Powell Becomes VP of RCSInternational

White Plains, NY - Oct 14, 2002 - RCS has appointed Michael Powellof the UK as its newest vice president, international division. Powellwill replace Robin Prior, who is relocating to his homeland of SouthAfrica to head RCS activity in that continent.

Powell, a native of the UK and a former newspaper journalist, joinedhis first radio station in 1980, soon becoming news director andmorning show presenter. In 1983 he helped set up Guildford's CountySound AM & FM, becoming PD in 1984 and CEO in 1986 when he signedup as one of the first UK users of RCS Selector. His innovationsincluded being the first UK radio company to end simulcasting and thefirst to bring U.S.-style Gold format radio to the UK.

In 1990, Powell launched radio development company Infinity Media, notaffiliated with Infinity USA, which merged with UKRD Group, where hebecame CEO. Powell acted as launch CEO for UK stations Pirate FM, 96.4The Eagle, and at Star FM as one of the first UK users of RCS MasterControl. He was a founding director of many UK stations including FoxFM, Oxford and two Kiss-branded stations that were later sold toChrysalis Group for $27 million. During this time he also served as aDirector of RCS (UK).

In 2001 with Powell as Chairman, Infinity Media de-merged from UKRDGroup to concentrate on new cross-platform radio formats. To take therole at RCS, Powell will be relinquishing his duties at Infinity.

Allen & Heath Appoints Lewty

Agoura Hills, CA - Oct 15, 2002 - Dave Lewty has been appointed tothe newly-created position of applications specialist at Allen &Heath USA. He is a well-known live sound expert with an extensivebackground in touring and installed performance sound.

North American Pro Audio (NAPA) established Allen & Heath USA toprovide U.S. distribution for the British audio mixing consolemanufacturer.

Lewty joins Allen & Heath USA after two years with a prominentsouthern California amplifier manufacturer. Prior to that, he wasresponsible for the initial introduction of the Innovason digitalmixing console in the United States, working directly with the Frenchmanufacturer and the U.S. importer for several years.

Lewty, who started in the industry as a touring live sound engineer andmusician in Europe, was transferred to the United States fromManchester, England in 1992 by AMEK, the British console maker.Initially establishing an East Coast sales office for AMEK U.S.Operations, he relocated to the company's Los Angeles headquarters ayear later. There, Lewty served as live sound sales manager, working tointroduce AMEK's Recall and 501 by Langley automated performance soundconsoles. He left AMEK in the late 90s as national sales manager.

Internet Watch

Gefen Updates Music Search

Woodland Hills, CA - Oct 21, 2002 - Gefen's sound effects-searchsoftware, SFX Search, has migrated to a new online home atwww.sfxsearch.com. With a new Web interface and additional libraries,sfxsearch.com offers a selection of sound effects, production music andelement libraries, easily searched by category or library name.

Thousands of samples are now available with new licensing arrangementsin the works for an even greater selection in 2003. Users can purchaseindividual samples for one-time usage or a complete library to add totheir collection. Individual sound effects range in price. Some of thecategories available include airplanes, animals, crashes, fantasy,funk, foley, rock/pop, sports and warfare.

A high-speed Internet connection is requred to download and samplesound effects. Users can purchase online as well.

SFX Search software is also available through Gefen.

Products

DG Systems Rolls OutEnhanced Features

Dallas - Oct 24, 2002 - DG Systems has launched a series of enhancedfeatures and an upgraded version of its DG Online solution. Theseenhancements will make it easier for advertisers, agencies and recordlabels to deliver radio commercials and music releases through its DGAudio Distribution Service.

The new DG Audio Distribution upgrades and features include a newelectronic traffic and order management interface that eliminatesre-keying orders; online spot and music upload capabilities that uploadmedia directly from users� desktops; a customer service programthat proactively reaches out to clientele; DG Media Manager audiotechnology rolled out to its nationwide network of radio stations; andDG Online 5.3, which now offers upgraded features, such as online orderentry and management for streamlined audio and video distribution.

The 160-page paperback explains how to install and set up the program,how to record from a variety of sources, how to apply EQ and effectslike flanging, reverb and delay, and how to sync via MIDI and SMPTE.Readers will learn how to use plug-ins to enhance, clean up and improverecordings, and how to save in multiple file formats, including MP3 and.wav for any platform.

For users who master to CD, the book explains how to use CoolEdit�s tools for normalizing the mix, executing complex multibandcompression, noise reduction and inserting silence, test tones andsignals. There�s also a troubleshooting section and a collectionof tips and tricks gleaned from the author's experience using theprogram.

Stardraw Upgrades withRubber-banding

London - Oct, 10, 2002 - Stardraw introduces Rubber-banding as anenhancement to its design and documentation applications. The newfunctionality means that elements in schematic designs stay connectedas the user moves them within the document. To change the look of ablock schematic and move products, drag the selected symbols to theirnew position or nudge them with the arrow keys. Rubber-banding operatesindependently of modifiers, such as snap to grid.

AKG Completes, Distributes MicCheck

Nashville, TN - Oct 1, 2002 - AKG Acoustics has completed and isdistributing its Mic Check, a CD-ROM and audio CD that enablesmusicians, producers, engineers and dealers to compare the contrast AKGmicrophones with various features and prices. The audio CD can beplayed in a standard CD player or as a CD-ROM and includes 89tracks.

The 8400HD FM system features multiple outputs to drive the analog anddigital HD Radio transmission channels, both of which operatesimultaneously during HD Radio transmission. The 8400HD FM's analogoutputs are identical to those in the Optimod-8400, and are optimizedto accommodate the pre-emphasis used on the analog FM channel.

The 8400HD FM adds an extra AES/EBU output to drive the digital HDRadio channel. This output provides look-ahead peak limiting thatoperates in parallel with the FM peak limiting. The look-ahead limitingis optimized to make the most of the limited bit-rate codec, used inthe HD Radio digital channel. By eschewing any clipping, the DR outputprevents the codec from wasting bits encoding clipping distortionproducts, allowing the codec to use its entire bit budget to encode thedesired program material instead.

Sonifex Offers SoftwareUpgrade

Los Angeles � Oct 5, 2002 � Sonifex has announced a newsoftware upgrade for the Net-Log audio logger. The Net-Log is afour-channel audio logger that can record weeks of programming on alarge internal hard disk. The current version supports as many as fivesimultaneous streams of playback, file creation for e-mailing,auto-archiving and recording control by remote contacts, weeklyschedule or live events.

The release of the upgrade in November will include support for largerhard drives, an increased number of recorded cuts and an increasednumber of recording programs. The software upgrade is free and will beavailable on the Sonifex website at www.sonifex.co.uk.

Eventide Introduces Boards forOrville

Los Angeles � Oct 5, 2002 � Eventide has introduced twodigital I/O expansion boards for its Orville effects processor: theAES/EBU and the ADAT. These hardware upgrades are available for factoryinstallation to all existing users of the Orville and the blank panelversion. These boards provide expanded digital input and outputcapability for existing units.

Auditronics' ALM-12DPasses Test at KCBQ

New Bern, NC - Oct 14, 2002 - Salem Communications' KCBQ received anAuditronics ALM-12D, a digital radio console that combines thefunctions of a router and an on-air audio console within the controlsurface, to use for production. Before installation was completed,however, the station's plans changed.

CraigCaston, chief engineer, needed a control room to accommodate a newmorning show: "Mark Larson with Larry Marino," a news and talk program.The show, which is produced in San Diego and Los Angeles for the entireSouthern California market, needed an on-air facility rather than onejust for production.

The last minute change in plans dictated that the original productionspace be transformed into the Larson studio. The ALM's compactfootprint fit nicely into what would normally be considered asmaller-than-usual control room. Furthermore, its internal routing andmix-minus capabilities allowed it to adapt quickly for a combinationnews and call-in on-air environment. The console's ability to assignany source to any input fader location is reinforced to the talent bydefinable alphanumeric displays. Reconfigurable mix-minus mixes keepcommunications with remote callers and studios simple.

With its support for this Windows Media codec, Syntrillium's Cool EditPro 2.0 audio recording, editing and mixing application offers a way toencode 5.1 audio channels to a single Windows Media Audio stream at avariety of bit resolutions and sampling rates, including 24-bit 96kHzfull-resolution audio.